


there's a wendigo in my closet

by arielf17



Series: ari tried to do bingo? [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Disney References, M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:48:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21753262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arielf17/pseuds/arielf17
Summary: prompt: merpeople
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: ari tried to do bingo? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567834
Comments: 9
Kudos: 32
Collections: Happy Steve Bingo 2019





	there's a wendigo in my closet

“Tony, explain.”

“There’s a merman in the bathtub.” 

“I can see that, Tony, explain  _ why _ there’s a merman in the bathtub.”

“Me and Stephen were going for a walk and saw him in an alley, so we decided to take him back here and rehabilitate him. Stephen’s gonna be back soon, he said he had a consultant for this sort of situation.” 

“A veterinarian or a crackpot?” 

“Honest to God, Steve, I’m not sure. I’m choosing to focus on the fact that there’s a merman in the bathtub.” 

“What if I have to take a shower?”

“You’re single and you work from home, what do you need to shower for?”

“Hygiene.” 

“Well, that’s not gonna happen, ‘cause there’s a merman in the bathtub.” 

“I’m going to punch you in the face.” 

“You can’t do that.”

“And why the hell not?”

“I’m baby.” 

“GODDAMNIT TONY”

#

“Tony’s right,” said Peggy. 

Steve floundered about on the couch like a dying fish, which only made him think about the merman currently in his bathtub. 

“He’s right?” asked Steve, indignant. 

“He is, in fact, baby.” 

Steve facepalmed. 

“Peggy, this is serious. There is a MERMAN. In the BATHTUB.” 

“Well, there’s nothing you can do about that until Stephen’s consultant shows up or the merman wakes up.” 

“I gotta wake the bastard up,” said Steve. 

“Maybe you should sing songs from  _ The Little Mermaid  _ at him very loudly.” 

Not understanding Peggy’s British sarcasm, Steve ran off to do just that. Tony was sitting on the sofa idly when Steve burst into the apartment.

“You over the shower thing?”

“NOPE! GONNA WAKE HIM UP!” 

Steve marched into the bathroom and sat down on the closed toilet. The merman hadn’t moved or shifted his position since Steve had stomped off to Peggy’s in a huff. He took a deep breath, and began to work through the soundtrack to  _ The Little Mermaid _ . As soon as he had finished the reprise to Part of Your World, he realized that Peggy had been kidding. 

“Well, this is embarrassing,” said Steve. 

“No shit,” said Tony, walking into the bathroom. 

“Tony, you got us into this mess. I have now realized that when Peggy suggested that I sing  _ The Little Mermaid  _ at him she was kidding, but I’m in too deep now.” 

“Well, I don’t have anything else to do.” 

Tony ended up staying to sing Les Poissons after Steve had finished Poor Unfortunate Souls, given that Steve’s fake French accent was atrocious. Tony chuckled and clapped Steve on the shoulder. 

“Well, that was fun. I would thank Miss Carter for putting that idea in your head, but we both know you’re a walking Disney flash mob waiting to happen.” 

“Har har.”

Tony chuckled to himself as he left the room. Steve shifted so he was facing the merman. Kiss the Girl had always been Steve’s favorite. He sang softly, so the merman could hear but hopefully Tony couldn’t. As Steve sang, something weird started to happen. 

Steve felt a wave of something, maybe familiarity? He was overcome with a fondness for the merman. It was almost like Steve felt comfortable around him, but that couldn’t be. It was impossible. 

“You unbelievable bastard,” whispered Steve. 

Steve kissed the merman on the forehead, then retreated backward. 

“Wake up. And be a jerk or something, so I can forget this ever happened.” 

Steve quickly exited the bathroom and came face to face with Tony, Stephen, and a thoroughly odd person, black hair, something familiar in the way they stood. 

“Steve,” said Stephen, “this is my associate, Dr. Odinson.” 

“Are you Thor’s brother?” asked Steve. 

“Sibling, actually. It’s the posture, that’s what reminds you of him. Boarding school, old habits, blah blah blah. Strange tells me you have a merman in the bathtub?” 

Steve stepped aside and gestured towards the bathroom door. As Stephen and Dr. Odinson (whose first name was something dumb like Logan or Agamemnon that Steve hadn’t bothered to remember) passed, Steve sat down on the couch, quickly joined by Tony. 

“So, what are the chances that this is a coma and I’m gonna wake up with months of bills to pay and you and Peggy threatening to kill me if I pull anything like that again?” asked Steve. 

“Hard to calculate and impossible to prove, even after you wake up. You can only ever verify your own existence, so there’s no way to determine whether or not we’re both real.” 

“Have I ever told you that I hate you?”

“Love you too, buddy.” 

Steve rolled his eyes. 

“OH, YOU IDIOT!” 

The sound had come from the bathroom. Steve listened intently as the argument continued. 

“It wasn’t my fault, Loki! Echo got caught, I had to save her! She’s my sister, can’t you understand that?”

“Of course I can, but you’re stuck here now, at least until you hear from Echo.” 

“Yeah, but it’s not so bad up here.” 

“Wipe that starry eyed look off your face. You can stay with me and Val until your sister writes.”

“Loki, I’m fine. I knew someone nice would find me. Now will you let me out of this bathroom?” 

A man emerged from the bathroom. Steve met his steel blue eyes and felt like an idiot. What kind of idiot can’t recognize someone until he opens his eyes and puts his hair in a ponytail?

“Bucky?” asked Steve. 

“Steve?” asked Bucky. 

“This whole situation just keeps getting better and better,” laughed Tony. 

“I...I thought you were leaving town,” said Steve. 

“That was technically true,” said Bucky, “I was gonna come back, I...I wanted to see you again. My sister, she got in trouble exploring a shipwreck, I ended up rescuing her, which landed me here, lost without my land legs.”

“You…” muttered Steve, “wanted to see me again?” 

“Of course. I had a great time with you, and you feel sort of familiar? Like you’re comfortable, but like in a good way, I know sometimes people think comfortable is bad, ‘cause humans tend to prefer things that feel exciting, or-”

“No, no, I get it!” cried Steve. 

“Oh,” said Bucky, “good. I’m glad you...understand.” 

“I feel the same way. You’re...gonna be here a while?” 

“It’ll take Echo a while to contact me, so yeah. Uh...why?”

“I could show you the museum like I promised, or we could go to Coney Island. And...you could kiss me again? That was nice.”

“Yeah,” chuckled Bucky, “I think I can manage that.”


End file.
